Online Some 57% of online adults have used the internet to watch or download video, and 19% do so on a typical day, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project’s first major report on online video. Moreover, 74% of broadband users with high-speed connections at home or work watch or download video online.

The growing adoption of broadband, combined with a dramatic push by content providers to promote online video, has helped to pave the way for mainstream audiences to embrace online video viewing, Pew said.

Professional-quality videos are generally preferred to amateur productions, which nevertheless appeal to coveted segments of the young male audience, according to Pew:

·Overall, 62% of online video viewers say that their favorite videos are those that are “professionally produced.”

·19% of online video viewers express a preference for content “produced by amateurs.”

·Overall, 27% of online video consumers say they watch or download video from YouTube; of those who watch or download videos from more than one location, 29% say YouTube is the place where they view online video most often. Young adults

·are almost twice as likely to point to YouTube as a source for online video: 49% of video viewers age 18-29 say they watch YouTube videos.

Other findings from the Pew report on online video:

Most online video viewers participate in some viral component of the medium:

More than half (57%) respondents say they share links to the video they find with others, and three in four (75%) say they receive links to watch video that others have sent to them.

Overall, just 8% of adult internet users say they have uploaded video content online, while 15% of internet users age 18-29 have contributed video.

Young adults also stand out for their unique video viewing preferences:

·News content is the most popular genre with every age group except for those ages 18-29, 43% of whom say they watch news videos.

·For young adults, comedy is a bigger draw, with 56% watching humorous videos.

In all, the survey asked respondents about 10 types of online video content:

·In addition, 6% of respondents say they watch some other type of video that does not fall into any of these categories.

About the study: Pew Internet & American Life Project surveyed 2,200 adults, age 18 and older, during February 15-March 7, 2007. Some 1,492 of those interviewed were internet users. The Project is an initiative of the Pew Research Center.